One Word Made All the Difference
by River Song daughter of Mars
Summary: It's an AU story about how drasticaly things could have changed if one seemingly unimportant Word hadn't been said in an important conversation.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is the first time I'm writing a Chuck fic and also the first time I attepmt to write a fic that's not book originated. So do try to bear with me as I explore the finer points of it. It's an AU story in which the first talk between Chuck and Sarah in vs the American Hero went different. How Sarah NOT saying one word changed the events so much. The idea of creating a whole new universe from one word came from Doctor Who episode called "Turn Left" (season 4).**

" You are not the (same) guy I fell for." Sarah said turning away from him. Chuck stumbled back a little feeling like he was punched in the gut. But quickly schooled his expression to not give away the emotional turmoil he felt at the moment. He fell into what he started calling spy mode in the last year. It was what he did when he pretended to be Charles Carmichael the confident CIA agent. Then he realised that was who he was now. The life he lived for the last year or maybe last three years was just the transition.

He stormed out of Castle with this realization, a little angry at how easily he fell for his soon to be ex partner. He shook those thoughts out of his head. If he was going to go through with this there were things he had to do. He decided that he should see his sister first, then contact his father. Even if he couldn't tell Ellie his father still had the right to know plus he could give him advice on the Intersect and who he should have on his team.

Casey and Morgan definetly, he thought, and maybe Carina. As reckless and cold she was she made up for it with her loyalty to her country and ,as much as she didn't want to admit it, her fellow agents. Yes hold that thought and definetly ask dad who else he could have on his team.

As soon as he entered the apartment complex he sought out Casey.

" So how'd it go? Are you with Walker now?" He asked immediately.

" No and I don't think I ever will be with her." Not if she fell for Shaw even after everything. " But Rome is still on and I will do everything in my power to get Beckman to reinstate you. I just need to say goodby to Ellie and dad. I have another meeting with the General next week. I'll see you then Casey." He walked out of Casey's apartment after saying that.

He knocked on Ellie's door and waited for her to open it up. He may be an agent now but who said agents couldn't use the front door, especially when it came to their civilian sisters. Ellie opened door quickly, quicker than her usual he observed, almost like she too had something to say. Doctors Without Borders he remembered and felt relieved that his sister wouldn't have time to miss him when his absence would be most obvious.

" Sis when I was in Washington I got a job offer. It's from a big shot agency and apperantly I fit their bill. They want to station me in Europe. I accepted."

Ellie beamed at him. " That's great news Chuck, I'm so happy for you. But what about Sarah. I thought you loved her." He sighed.

" I do love her and probably will for a long time if not the rest of my life. It's just that she doesn't feel the same way if she ever did. And it will be good for me to get away from all these memories of her. You know maybe help me heal. One day with time there may be someone else in my life." _Not likely_, but he kept that thought to himself.

" El do you know how to contact dad? I want to see him too before I leave for Europe." She explained how they contacted and I composed and coded a mesage for tomorrow's newpaper.

**Tomorrow at Stephen Bartowski's cabin**

Stephen Bartowski was up early again. He never got much sleep, not with all the regrets he had. Project X, letting Hartley talk him into using the program. Hartley was never important like Stephen to the CIA ,the only irreplaceable scientist working on the Intersect Project. The poor man lost himself because he felt unimportant ,he let his want to be recognised get to him and Stephen himself was so eager he let Hartley talk him into this.

He quickly opened his newspaper seeking something to distract him from his regrets in life. It was then he saw the coded mesage. Taking the notepad and the pen he kept handy in case he got an idea he started to decipher it.

_Dad need to talk to you ASAP Love Chuck_

He stared at the mesage from his son must have learned how to contact him from his sister. Knowing his son was exposed to things his daughter only saw in TV shows and it could be related to that stuff he called Chuck using his encrypted phone instead of writing back. Besides he did say ASAP and in spy world seconds mattered let alone a day.

He shook his head realising he was thinking of his son as a spy. He couldn't be one, right? He didn't answer that one knowing he could very well be a spy. It was in his blood after all. He used the encrypted phone and set up the meet for lunch anyway.

**Time skip to during the lunch meet**

" YOU WHAT?" Stephen may have reacted a little more than he should have in public to his son's revealations.

" Dad keep your voice down but yes I uploaded it. I am a CIA Special Agent now. I will be heading my own operation in Italy. I have a flight to Stuttgart tonight to clear my head before the new operation. I just wanted to say goodby since I don't know when I'll see you next and ask if you had any advice. Weather about being a spy or the Intersect or just fatherly advice. You were good at that."

Stephen thought for a while. " Well for your problems with the Intersect I suggest you take up meditation. It will help with other stuff too. Also the Intersect was designed as a learning tool in the first place. And" He played nervously with the watch that housed his governor." Over the years I realized that the Intersect ,just like any other computer, can overheat. I've been looking for a solution. The best I've got is a device I call the Governer. It governs my nervous system and stops the Intersect from overheating. I don't know if it will work with 2.0 but I'll look into it. If it does I will deliver yours by the time you meet with Beckman next week. If not I'll start looking for a new solution but I see no reason why it shouldn't the principle is more or less the same."

"Thanks dad, I appreciate your suppport more than you know."

" No I thank you Chuck for making sure my invention is being used for what I made it for and not what the government thinks is best. I'm proud of you and so would your mom be if she could see the man you are." But he didn't elaborate about Marry's situation. " By the way if you still get along with Bryce he should be available for your new team. And ask if you have room for one more Nicklas Schwarz the defected German agent would be a good and reliable choice."

" I'll take your word on Schwarz but dad Bryce is dead. He died the night Ellie got maried." Chuck reminded his father. Stephen just gave an enigmatic smile.

" Did he?" Was his last words to his son for the next five days. But he was filled with determination. He was going to make his son a Governer as resistant to field conditions as possible or two if he had time to assuming a Governer is competible for 2.0.

**So that's it for the first chapter. I hope you liked it. I did my best and have lots planned for this story but most of them are details. I'm not sure if the pairing will be Charah but I am a big fan of it so it's likely. Also it won't have Chuck/Carina at least not as a part of the plans I made so far. Carina will be a part of the team but also won't date Casey or Morgan. Maybe I can pair her with my OC Schwarz but that won't be happening in the forseeable future either. ( Though when writing that can be a short time if a new idea strikes) See you in the next chapter and Please review. Reviews make me write more and better.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys I'm back with chapter two. Even though it's a little later than I'd have liked it's better than never. BTW in the first chapter I replaced Buenos Aires with Stuttgart. Because a) Stuttgart is more up Chuck's alley and b) It's a detail I planned you will be reading about real soon and will come up a few more times. And good news for those who wanted Bryce on Chuck's team it's a go. And for those who didn't, take comfort in the fact that a year ago( in the show) they offered Chuck a place on Bryce's team but now he will be working for one Special Agent Charles Carmichael. ( take that Larkin) Sorry that would be the side of me that still hates Bryce Larkin for screwing up Charah effectively in the first two seasons. I'll shut up now and leave the stage to Chuck.**

**Next week in Washington**

Chuck got out of the Taxi he hired at the airport and started walking in the direction of the spot he would meet his father at. He had picked a spot out of the many cameras in the capital of the US. The man was paranoid and Chuck did offer to meet him in Burbank but his father was adament that he wanted to save his son the trip.

As he walked Chuck was avare that even though he was still hurting from his last conversation with Sarah he still felt better than he did in a realy very long time. No more mysteries that revolved around Sarah Walker, no more working at a dead end job, no more Jeff and Lester and no more being a loser. Hell maybe he could even get his friendship with Bryce back. After learning he framed Chuck in a misguided attemt to protect him and that he was never with Jill **( seing he dated Jill again and Bryce must have explained that. Or that's what I'm assuming, surely Chuck must have some pride)** the only thing that stopped them from going back to what they used to be was their feelings for Sarah. And if loved Shaw and neither of them there was no reason not to go back to being friends.

"Hey Chuck." His dad's voice broke his train of thought. When he turned around he saw his father looking just like he did when they snuck in Roark Insturments. Then he realized that he enjoyed being spies with his father and that the feeling was mutual.

"Hey dad." He answered with a small but bright smile. Stephen pulled his son in a short hug, happily noticing he was much more relaxed than he was last week. He took a box out of his bag and passed it to his son after they let go. He wanted that governor on his son's wrist as soon as possible, before any side effect of the intersect showed itself.

Chuck opened the box and saw two fancy watches. He took one out and activated after wearing it on his wrist. It light up blue for a few seconds as it activated and Chuck sighed in relief as a pressure in his head he wasn't even avare of faded.

"Thanks dad. I didn't even notice how much strain it put on me before."

"And you have an exceptional retention rate. Think of how much strain it would put on someone else. That's part of why I didn't want the government to use the Intersect. By the way I think you will be happy to learn I improved your governer to be more compatible for field work. Much more dureable to impacts and heat than mine and water and EMP proof to boot. I even got to make a spare since we will be far apart from eachother so if anything happens to your governer you won't be effected." Chuck was amazed at how much work his dad put into it.

"Oh I almost forgot this." Stephen gave Chuck an odd looking phone that was eerily simlar to his laptops. " Untraceable phone one of mine so that you can contact me and Ellie without the fear of someone will find us. You know communicating without someone finding us was one of the biggest problems your mother had when she was on missions." The older man said without realizing his slip.

It was when Chuck saw how much he changed. A year ago ,hell a month ago, he would be freaking out about his mother being a spy. Now he just schooled his face to not give away he heard something his dad hadn't meant to say, thanked him and gave him a huge hug that would rival one of Ellie's. But as he walked away he decided to trust his father on that one and not look for his mom. Surely has father would tell him everything one day. After all everyone had their secrets and he trusted his dad. If his old man didn't tell him about it there was a good reason.

He took another Taxi to DNI for his meeting with Beckman to select his team and work out the rest of the details. As the Taxi came to a stop he paid the man and moved towards the official building that emmited a somber aura. He fixed his tie and checked the straps of his brand new shoulder harness. The last thing he needed was to drop his sidearm and risk injuring one of the good guys if it went of. Somehow he didn't think Beckman would appreciate clumsiness.

He got out of the elevator a minute left to his meeting, notified her aid and entered the General's office just on time.

" Welcome Agent Carmichael, I trust your holliday went well."

" Thank you for asking General, it served it's purpose as well as you hoped. I am now ready for duty ma'am." Beckman gave a rare smile.

" Just as I hoped. Have you thought about who you want on your team?" Chuck took a deep breath. Now he needed to thread very carefully if he was going to get the General to both reinstate Casey and allow him to recruit Morgan.

" Yes I have. General have you by any chance heard anything about Bryce Larkin not being dead?" If he could catch her of her guard it would give him more of an opportunity to accomplish his goals. As predicted Beckman never saw it coming and only her many years in this business stopped it from showing on her face. Unfortunetly for her it wasn't enough to mask the momentery look of shock crossing her eyes and that was all Chuck needed.

" You would be correct to assume your old friend is alive. Would I be correct to assume you want him to join you?" Chuck smiled he was definetly getting Bryce and after three years he finally had Beckman's respect too.

"Of course General. And I recall you mentioning Joint Cheifs wanting more inter agency cooperation. Could I possibly have Agent Miller on my team? It would get the others of your hair too." Diane was on the same page too and was happy that after arrenging this noone could say she didn't condone inter agency cooperation. And the best part was that nobody could object to this without looking bad themselves. Looks like DEA will have to say goodby to Carina.

" That's quite possible. But why do I have the feeling that I won't like the rest of this conversation?" Chuck smiled sheepishly in an attemt to soften the General.

" That feeling is acurate but please listen to my reasoning before shooting me down." He took a deep breath to calm his nerves and started his defence of Casey. " General I know Casey for all intents and purposes looks guilty" _don't use the word treason_ "but the real story isn't always what it looks like on the outside. It's quite similar to Bryce's case actualy." _Provide an example of a situation where the agent looked guilty but wasn't_ " When Keller showed up and knew about the mission we were going to recive before we did he knew notifiying you and the rest of the team were off the table as he would learn about it. Then Casey would have failed as a spy as it would cause Keller to kill has ex fiancé and daughter." _Mention his daughter to make her understand the situation better_ " So Casey came up with a plan of his own. He would temporarily relocate the laudanol to make Keller believe he was playing to his tune. He didn't think I saw him and if everything went according to the plan I wouldn't have. After the news of the theft reached Keller he and his men would have met Casey for the drop. But it wouldn't happen as Casey had already hidden the laudanol. He would use that oppotunity to eliminate Keller and his men. After which the two civilians in question would have been safe and he would return the drug." He finished his defence but making sure to imply the threatened people could have been any two civilians and Casey would save them as it was his duty.

Beckman thought about it. Yes that sounded more like Casey doing his duty no matter what even though it could get him fired or killed. She honestly didn't know which was worse to Casey but she did find it hard to believe he was a traitor. She actually liked it she could have one of her best agents back and keep her only Intersect agent happy. Plus Casey would make sure things like paperwork got done which she highly doubted would happen between Chuck, Bryce Larkin and Carina Miller. Even though all of them were fine operatives if a little unorthodox they wouldn't care for things like paperwork or even protocols. Yes having Casey on that team is a good idea.

" I'll take your word for it Agent Carmichael but if anything like this happens again…"

" It won't General, I take full resposibilty." That was the answer she was looking for. " And General can I recruit Morgan Grimes?" Her mood took a turn for the worse at the mention of the said idiot.

" Why on earth would you want that moron among some the finest agents our country has to offer?!" Chuck winced at her reaction. So far the meeting had gone so well if only his luck held for another five minutes.

" General like you said this team has some of the best agents America has but there are things that needs to be done in a van or behind a computer in a base. And I'm pretty sure Bryce, Carina and Casey won't have signed up for this to sit in a van." The tiny General could see Orion in the young agent across from her more than ever. He too came up with great plans and valid arguments when he wanted or needed anything done. The memory of how Orion convinced one of the higher ups to give the Intersect project additional funding instead of the admiral who wanted another submarine was still fresh in her mind. She definetly liked the Bartowskis better when their intelligence was directed at someone else.

She sighed. She was getting too old to deal with an Orion Jr. or Frost Jr. ,even though he didn't seem like a Frost Jr. you never know. She didn't even know or wanted to know which was worse. " Fine you are permitted to recruit Grimes but he is your responsibilty. " Chuck smiled brightly.

" Thank you General, I won't let you down."

" Do you want anyone else on your team?" She realy wanted to get this meeting over with and get a drink. She totaly forgot how tiring dealing with Bartowskis tended to be.

Chuck was surprised but remembered Schwarz." Um, a mutual friend of our mentioned a Niklas Schwarz the defected German agent. He was both reliable and competant or so I was told." Diane was honestly surprised he heard of Schwarz. Yes the man was as talented as the rest of the team but she was curious about who mentioned Schwarz. She knew every spy he knew so it could be anyone from that MI6 agent the team met last year to his now former team mates Agents Walker and Shaw. And admitedly having someone like Schwarz would be useful for a team stationed at Europe. But he was also the only one she wasn't sure she could get the team.

" I'll look into it. Take the file on your station with you. I want you to look over eveything. Take extra care of the equipment list for your new base. Anything you want to add or replace I need to know about in the next three days. And you need to come up with a new name for Larkin to use in the field and reports. Noone can know he is alive. Your mission starts next week as soon as your base of operations is set. My aid will give the details of your accomodations for this week. You are dismissed unless you have anything else to add."

" General I thought meditation could help me use the Intersect better. Do you know anyone who can help me in that regard?"

" I'll arrange something so that you can learn the basics before you leave. Stop by the lobby of your hotel next morning, someone will have dropped the details."

" Okay thanks General you were realy helpful." He left General's office with the file in hand, stopped by her aid to collect the details of his hotel reservation and left the building.

**Finally I finished it. It took longer than I planned but I didn't want to put two filler chapters. Next chapter Chuck and his brand new team go to Rome. I will skip the equipment dicussion as I don't know anything about spy equipment and since I also don't know about meditation either I won't be able to write about Chuck learning meditation. At next chapter Niklas Schwarz will make his first actual apperiance in the story. Bryce's new field name is Ryan Jackson if you can think of a better name mention it in a review and I'll consider it. If I choose to use it I'll give the credit to you.**

**P.S. Chuck may seem a little OC but after the way the events turned out it would be unrealistic if he was exactly the same as he was. And about his meeting with Beckman remember he planned for a week to get Beckman do what he wants. See ya when I put up the next chapter. Also sorry for any spelling mistakes. It's late and I'm tired. Good night.**


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